Hand telephone



July 31, 1934. Q ANDERSON 1,968,066

HAND TELEPHONE Filed Jan. 21, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet l IWFILF Clarence H.Hndersun July 31, 1934. c. A. ANDERSON 6 HAND TELEPHONE Filed Jan. 21, 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Clarence FLHnder'smn Patented July 31, 1934 HAND TELEPHONE Clarence A Anderson, Chicago, assignor to" Associated ElectricLaboratories, Inc., Chicago,

Ill'., a corporation of .Delaware ,4

. .ApplicationJanuaryZl, 1932, serial'Noi 582846 '6 Claims. (cilia-103) l The present invention "relates in general to hand telephones, but is particularly-concerned with the provision of a ruggedly builthand tele-';

phone set having a resilient handle normally appropriately curved 1:01 bring the transmitter unit in the proper position with respect to the receiver. A specialflfeature of the hand telephone handle is that'it' is constructed of a combination of flexible and resilient materials, whi ch permit the hand telephone to be folded up, so to speak, and placed in enclosures which would not otherwise accommodate it; but which will automatically open up in appropriate position for use when released from such enclosure. further advantage of employing a resilient handle is that such a handle is practically unbreakable;

and also cushions any shock, transmitted to one unit, from the other unit. Another feature has to do with the provision of a hand telephone with which a head piece may be used, thereby enabling the use of the set and at the same time leaving'the users hands free for other duties. There are various other 'detailedfeatures' and advantages obtained by thehand telephone as herein shown. 'These latter 'featureahowever, are perhaps of a more or less minor. nature and will present themselvesas the description progresses. j v Atelephone' set of the foregoing type is very desirable in various fields. For examplein field sets used in army service, and in combination with or as a part of electrical testing'setsiof varied forms. j

The invention is disclosed 'in two sheets of drawings comprisingFigs. l to 11, inclusive. Fig; 1 is a side view of the hand telephone, in elea vation, with a portion'of' a head-'piece shown in place on the receiver thereof; Fig. 2 is a rear view; Fig; 3'is a side view of the hand telephone, when folded; Fig. 4 is a rear view of the receiver assembly; Fig. 5 is a rearvi'ew of the transmitterassembly; Fig. 6 is a rear. view of the front half of the handlesleeve showing the conductors which extend between thetransmitter and. receiverunits, respectively; Fig. '7 is a front view of that portionof the handle portion not shown in Fig. 6; Fig. 8 is a sectional view of one of the two clamps employed in holding the transmitter and receiver units and the handle assembly together, and also includes a view of the screw employed in conjunction with this clamping means; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of one of a number of like resilient members employed in the construction of the handle of the hand telephone; Fig. 11 is a rear view 01' the transmitter assembly employed, buti'with the; casingremoved; whileFig. 10'i1lustrates a modified form of transmitter caseconstruction.

v The receiverassembly employediis of the ordinary jwatchcase'type, being enclosed in the cuplike casing 1% on which'is threaded the usual ear piece 15. Thetransjrhitter assembly, as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 3 and 5", comprises a flanged, cuplike' member within which the transmitter assembly, illustrated in" Fig. 11, is held by a flanged ring 22 and the usual mouth-piece 21, the ringbeing threaded to the flange of the casing 20. This construction is shown in Fig. lOvvherein, a receiver cup'membe'r 14. provided with an internally and externally threaded 7 washer .23, are illustrated'as an' alternative 'ar-' rangement to that employing a one-piece flanged casing.

The'handleI of the assembly comprises a sleeve, made bysewing together the two leather strips 24 and 25, and by enclosing within this sleeve a number ofcurved flat springmembe'rs26. In the construction of the handle the two sleeve members are first appropriately perforatedand are then sewed together along their outer lengthwise edges, as.illustrated in Fig. 2. Waterproof glue is also employe'd'atfthe seams tomake the sleeve asnearly water tight as possible. Theends of the sleeve are, at least temporarily leftopento permit thev introduction therein of the spring members 26, but before these are inserted conductors 2 7. are fishedthrough the perforations 2810f the front portion 24' of 'the' sleeve. These conductors are later connected with the receiver. and transmitterunits by way of the openin'gs 18 9o and 29 in the casings thereof,-respectively. With the eonductors' 2'7 in place in the sleeve the nutriber of flat springs 26 required to obtain the desired stiffness of the handle are placed, in the sleeve whichfthen assumes the'position inwhich the handle is shown in Fig.1. V

When the conductorsj21 have .been appropriately'connec'ted up to the receiver and-transmitter units the handle portion is securedto the rear of the; casings, of these units by clamping 0 units 30 held in place by their associated screws 35. The screws 35 pass through appropriate openings in the clamping member 30, the sleeve members, and the spring members, and are then threaded into the tapped openings 16 and 16' of 5 the receiver and transmitter casings, respectively. It should be observed that the stems 34 of the screws 35 fit snugly through the openings provided in the sleeve portion of the handle, but that the openings in the spring members 26 11.

through which the stems 34 pass are of a substantially greater diameter than is the diameter of the screw stems 34. This arrangement permits a slight endwise movement of the spring members 26, which movement naturally occurs as the handle of the telephone is flexed from one position to the other. It will be observed that the clamping units have four pins 31 which register with appropriate openings in thesleeve and in the receiver and transmitter casings, respectively. The pins 31 in the clamping members 30 pass only through the sleeve member and adjacent the sides of the spring members 26 and serve to prevent rotary movement of these casings with respect to the handle of the set. The length of the stern portions 34 of the screws 35 are so proportioned with respect to the thickness of the handle of the hand telephone that the heads of the screws 35 cannot be drawn down against the sleeve member 25 tight enough to prevent the mentioned endwise movement of the spring members 26.

As will be observed from Fig. 11 the back of the transmitter unit is provided with terminals 37 to 40, inclusive, where the proper connections are made with conductors 27 and with the usual cord 41 extending from the transmitter.

As will be observed from Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 8 the screws 35 are provided with snap fastener units 36. The snap fastener equipped strap 44, shown in Fig. 3, may be provided to hold the telephone set in a folded position, as illustrated in Fig. 3, when not in use. It will, of course, be obvious that if the provision of the strap fastener arrangement is not wanted the set can still be folded and held in such position in an appropriately provided compartment of the assembly with which it is used. Under these latter circumstances the simple withdrawal of the set from such compartment results in the handle straightening out into the position it is shown in Fig. 1, in readiness for immediate use.

As previously mentioned, in the disclosure of Fig. 10, an adapter 23 comprising an internally and externally threaded washer, in combination with a receiver casing such as 14', which is identical to casing 14, may be employed as an alternative arrangement to the provision of a one-piece flanged cup transmitter casing such as disclosed A in Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 5.

From Figs. 1 and 3, it will be observed that the cord 41, extending from the transmitter assembly, is provided with a strain removing cord 42, and that this cord is anchored to the transmitter casing by means of a screw 43. Referring now to the modified form of the transmitter casing shown in Fig. 10, it will be observed that this screw 43, which is used in the same manner in both forms of the invention, has been screwed down tightly against the frame of the transmitter unit and in so doing increases thefrictional contact between the threads of the ring 22 and the portion to which it is threaded, thereby making it more difficult to unscrew ring 22 from the assembly.

In illustrating and describing the invention it i has been assumed that the sleeve is made of, leather. It will be obvious, however, that any\ other suitable flexible material may equally well be employed. A one-piece molded rubber sleeve might also be employed to advantage under some circumstances.

The head-band 50, shown connected to the set, it will be observed, is fastened at an angle with respect to the handle, so that the transmitter is held forward near the mouth of the user when the head-band is employed. The use of this band, of course, leaves the users hands free for other duties.

From the foregoing it will be appreciated that applicant has designed a hand telephone of a type which should find considerable utility as a part of a field telephone such as required by the army, andby any electrical testing equipment employing a hand telephone.

What is claimed is:

1. In a hand telephone, a receiver unit, a transmitter unit, a handle of spring material connecting said units and tensioned to normally maintain them in a definite spaced relation with respect to each other substantially as required for use, and means for holding said units in another position with respect to each other, against the tension of said handle to enable the set to be stored in a restricted area.

2. In a hand telephone set, a receiver unit, a transmitter unit, a resilient handle comprising a plurality of flat springs enclosed in a casing connecting said units, each of said springs having holes through the ends thereof and studs co-operating therewith to support the transmitter and receiver units, said studs smaller in diameter than the holes, thereby enabling a slight endwise movement of the springs of said handle with respect to said units, and holding means for preventing rotary movement of said units with respect to said handle.

3. In a telephone set, a transmitter unit, a receiver unit, like casings for mounting said receiver unit and the transmitter unit, and an adapter mounted on one of such casings and threaded to support the transmitter unit.

4. In a hand telephone set, a transmitter unit, a receiver unit, a resilient handle bridging said units, means for securing said units to said handle, and means for holding said units against each other against the tension of said handle, said means including the first-mentioned means.

5. In a hand telephone set, a handle connecting the usual receiver and transmitter units, respectively, said handle including a plurality of curved fiat springs enclosed'in a casing in which is included the conductors required to make the necessary connections between the two units.

6. In a hand telephone set, transmitter and receiver units, a flexible handle connecting said units tensioned to maintain the units normally in talking relation, said handle capable of flexing to bring the transmitter and receiver into adjacent positions, and a strap for clamping the units together. 7

CLARENCE A. ANDERSON. 

